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According to the Onslow County Sheriff's Office, 35-year-old Christopher Lee Miller, of Verona, appeared to have died from smoke inhalation.

Loved ones remember Miller as a loving person, some who would give you the shirt off hit back.

"He loved fishing, being out on the boat, just being with his friends, family everything," said Jennifer Miller, the victim's sister. "Any time we would be out on the water, he was just happy. That's just where he loved to be."

Investigators said the fire happened at a mobile home on Kenny's Avenue at the Dixon Estate Mobile Home Park. The scene is about 7 miles northeast of Holly Ridge. Fire crews responded just after 12 a.m. Tuesday.

Miller was asleep in a bedroom inside the mobile home when the fire happened, according to the Sheriff's Office. A mother and a child were also inside at the time, but they made it out alive.

Neighbor Michael Radetski said he made several attempts with another person to get Miller out.

"We busted open a back door. We both ran in and got about 5 feet, and you couldn't see," said Radetski. "I couldn't breath."

Radetski said he also shattered a window, but couldn't get inside because the headboard from a bed blocked his entry. Radetski told NewsChannel 12 he then tried going inside through the front door, but the flames were too hot.

"It's one of the worse things to happen in this trailer park in a while," Radetski said.

When fire crews arrived, the mobile home's kitchen area was engulfed in flames, said investigators.

The mother and child who escaped suffered some smoke inhalation, deputies said. They received medical attention after the fire and were assisted by the Red Cross, said neighbors.

But Miller was found dead in the bedroom after the fire was put out, the Sheriff's Office stated. Miller's body was not burned because crews extinguished the fire before it reached the bedroom.

An autopsy was conducted at Onslow Memorial Hospital later Tuesday morning.

One of Miller's friends stopped by the fire scene Friday, delivering a special hat in Miller's memory.

"I know a rockstar who died here," the friend said. "Great friend, great guy, great brother, great son. If you were around that kid, you were happy, or you were smiling. You're having a good time, no matter what was going on in your life."

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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One man was found dead after a mobile home fire in Onslow County early Tuesday, officials said.

The fire happened on Kenny's Avenue at the Dixon Estate Mobile Home Park, about 7 miles northeast of Holly Ridge, said Fire Marshal Brian Kelly. Crews responded at about 12 a.m. Tuesday.

Only one mobile home was on fire, and a man's body was found inside after the blaze was put out, Kelly said.

The identity of the victim has not been released and there is no word on a cause of the fire.

It's also unclear whether the man died from the fire or from something else.The Onslow County Sheriff's Office is investigating.

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